New to Blu-ray: MOONRISE KINGDOM, AVATAR 3D, MAD MEN Season 5, and More

This week on Blu-ray, Wes Anderson’s latest comes to home video, the highest grossing film of all time gets a non-exclusive 3D release, and the Christmas season officially begins with a holiday favorite Blu-ray upgrade. Here’s a brief look at this week’s offerings:

The film that essentially started the 3D craze is now available on 3D Blu-ray. James Cameron’s CG-enhanced epic was previously only available on 3D Blu-ray as part of a pricey bundle with Panasonic gear. Now the film is available as a separate purchase, but this Blu-ray version is identical to the previously released iteration. Unfortunately, that means absolutely zero extras and bonus features are included. For that you’ll either have to shill for the “Extended Collector’s Edition” or wait for the inevitable 3D Blu-ray megaset.

This found footage horror film from the creator of the Paranormal Activity franchise failed to make much of a splash in theaters, but the Blu-ray disc comes with a few extras that should entice fans fo the film. In addition to DVD and UltraViolet copies of the film, the Blu-ray includes an alternate ending, a few alternate scenes, a viral video from the pic’s viral campaign, and “Uri’s Extreme Tours Infomercial.”

Though odds are pretty good that this movie is playing on some cable channel at any given moment, director Penny Marshall’s baseball drama is now available on Blu-ray for the first time ever. The disc includes a commentary with Marshall, Lori Petty, Megan Cavanagh, and Tracy Reiner, as well as 15 deleted scenes with introductions by Marshall, an hour-long documentary on the making of the film, and a music video for Madonna’s “This Used to Be My Playground.”

The next collection of Looney Tunes shorts has hit Blu-ray, and this Volume Two comes packed with 3 disc and 50 shorts from the classic cartoons. Some of the shorts included are “The Complete Beaky Buzzard,” “The Bugs Bunny vs. Cecil Trilogy,” and “The Complete A. Flea.” The set has an insane amount of extras, including audio commentaries on almost all of the shorts, a 28-page booklet, alternate audio tracks (ie. all-music), featurettes for producer Leon Schlesinger, animator Bob Clampett, a look at the Looney Tunes counterparts for famous Hollywood personalities, a 42-minute documentary on animation director Tex Avery, and much, much more.

Though Showtime’s Homeland ultimately broke the Best Drama Series winning streak for AMC’s brilliant drama Mad Men, season five still contains some of the best work from the show to date. The Blu-ray set includes a bounty of audio commentaries from cast and crew and featurettes covering the film’s distinctive writing style, artist Giorgio de Chirico, Truman Capote’s Black and White Ball, the show’s music, and more.

The third entry in DreamWorks Animation’s popular Madagascar franchise takes the loveable characters to Europe, and kids are likely to enjoy rewatching the film over and over again on Blu-ray. The special features include a couple of games for the young-uns, a picture-in-picture track that delves into the making of the film and the animation process, a look at the voice acting process, deleted scenes, a short roundtable with the filmmakers, audio commentary, and more.

Writer/director Wes Anderson crafted one of the best films of his career (and the year) with this summer’s 1960s-set Moonrise Kingdom, and now fans can enjoy the absolutely gorgeous/adorable film in the comfort of their own home. The special features are sadly lacking, as the disc only includes three short featurettes: “A Look Inside Moonrise Kingdom,” “Welcome to the Island of New Penzance,” and a “Set Tour with Bill Murray.” Hopefully an eventual Criterion release will include something more substantial.

One of Disney’s lesser known properties is getting the ol’ Blu-ray treatment. Pete’s Dragon was first released in 1977 and features a mix of animation and live action, with performances from Shelley Winters, Mickey Rooney, and Red Buttons. The specials features on the 35th Anniversary Blu-ray release aren’t plentiful, but they do include a 25-minute featurette documenting Disney’s history of blending live-action and animation (going all the way back to the 1920s Alice shorts). The other extras are a deleted scene in storyboard form, the original story concept for “I Love You, Too,” and two reissue trailers.

Though undeniably cheesy, this 1994 Tim Allen holiday film has since become a Christmas favorite. Disney has opted for a very simple Blu-ray release (ie. cash-in), so the only special features included on the disc are two featurettes called “So You Wanna Be An Elf?” and “Making Santa Snacks with Wolfgang”, and “The Night Before Christmas” short.

This Adam Sandler/Andy Samberg comedy failed to make a splash at the box office this summer, but maybe it’ll find an audience on Blu-ray. The disc includes a gag reel, deleted scenes, a featurette that focuses on the film’s many cameos, another that focuses solely on the strip club scenes, and finally a featurette called “Greetings from Cape Cod” that’s nearly 7 minutes of the cast and crew yelling ‘Wazzuupp?’

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